Black Rhinoceros

 Black Rhinoceros Credit

The black rhinoceros (also known as the hook-lipped rhinoceros) is a large species of rhinoceros native to Africa. Despite it's name, the black rhinoceros is actually fairly light in colour with most black rhinoceros individuals having either white or grey skin. Historically, the black rhinoceros had a vast range across central and eastern Africa in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the black rhinoceros is still found in these countries today, their numbers are very few and far between.
 

The black rhinoceros is one of the larger rhinoceros species with the horns of the black rhinoceros known to reach 1.5 meters in length. The black rhinoceros uses it's horns are used for defence, intimidation, digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. The horns of the black rhinoceros are made from a substance called keratin and are therefore very strong. The horns of the black rhinoceros are used in ancient medicine and many black rhinos have been illegally poached for them.

The black rhinoceros is a herbivorous animal meaning that it sustains itself on a purely plant based diet. Black rhinos browse the densely vegetated savanna for leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, berries and roots which they dig up from the ground using their horns. Due to it's large size, the black rhino's only real predator in the wild are large wild cats such as lions that will prey on the black rhino calves and weak individuals. Humans are the biggest threat to the black rhinoceros as they have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their horns.

The black rhinoceros is solitary animal and only comes together with other black rhinos to mate. The female black rhinoceros gives birth to a single calf after a gestation period that is over a year long. The black rhinoceros calf remains with it's mother until it is at least 2 years old and big enough to become independent. Today, the black rhinoceros is a critically endangered animal said to be on the brink of extinction in the wild. There are only a handful of black rhinoceros individuals left in the wild, but reports suggest that black rhinoceros population numbers are now beginning to increase due to continued conservation efforts. Source

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Western Gorilla

The western gorilla is one of two gorilla sub-groups found on the African continent (the other being the eastern gorilla). The western gorilla is the most numerous species gorilla and also the larger out of the two. The western gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of western and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and secondary forests. All western gorillas are now considered to be critically endangered as much of their natural habitat has now been deforested or taken over by humans.

There are two separate sub-species of western gorilla which are the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla. Although only slightly different in appearance, the two western gorilla species are distinguished by there differing skull and tooth sizes. The western gorilla is one of the great apes, a group that includes orang-utans, gorillas, humans and chimpanzees. As with the other great apes, the western gorilla has a number of features which makes living in the jungle a bit easier, including having opposable thumbs which come in handy when the western gorilla is peeling fruit.

The western gorilla is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is made up of eating fruit which the western gorilla is known to travel vast distances through the forests to find. The western gorilla also eats leaves, nuts and berries, along with insects and occasionally small animals such as lizards and rodents. The western gorilla has also been observed using basic tools in the wild in order to more effectively gather food. Due to it's large size, the western gorilla has few real predators in it's native African forests, with large cats such as leopards and the odd crocodile being the only real natural threat to the western gorilla.

The western gorilla tends to live in groups which are led and protected by the alpha male. The alpha male western gorilla also mates with the females in his group, producing generally single offspring, known as babies. The western gorilla babies remain with their mother until they are a few years old and become independent. Today, all western gorillas are critically endangered species but there are thought to be 95,000 western lowland gorillas remaining in the wild, significantly more than their cross river gorilla cousins, whose numbers in the wild are thought to to as low as 300 individuals. Source

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